1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to a surface treating device and a method thereof, and more particularly to a device for treating a tooth surface and a method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
As many people consider plastic surgery to be conducive to their work and interpersonal relationship, the need for plastic surgery is ever increasing. Of the various items of plastic surgery, tooth whitening, which enables one to have clean and white teeth and makes one even impressed when smiling, is beloved by people working in the service industries. No matter one's intention is directed towards work or interpersonal relationship, many developed countries such as the United States, European countries and Japan have taken lead in cosmetic dentistry. Nowadays, tooth whitening has become a fashion in many countries. The darkening of one's tooth may be ascribed to overall factors (such as age and personal attributes) or local factors (such as smoking, tea staining, drinking, and food taking). A large portion of local factors result from the pigmentation of organic pigments (C, H, O compounds) on tooth surface. If the organic pigments, which are mainly contained in the food and drinks, are not cleaned timely, pigments will be deposited deep in the teeth and make tooth surface become yellow or darkened.
Tooth whitening methods are divided into several categories. Tooth whitening method may employ bleach alone or employ a light source in addition to the use of bleach. Tooth whitening method may involve more complicated therapy such as porcelain laminate veneer therapy and porcelain crown therapy. According to the porcelain laminate veneer therapy, tooth surface is grounded off the thickness of about two pieces of paper first, and then artificial enamel is coated on the tooth surface to compensate the part of tooth surface grounded off. The porcelain laminate veneer therapy has the advantage of long duration but is too costive. According to the porcelain crown therapy, tooth is grounded into a bar shape on which an alloy crown is planted, and then a porcelain powder with similar color to genuine tooth is fused to the metal crown. The porcelain crown therapy has a wide range of application and a long duration up to 10 years. However, the porcelain crown therapy is the most costive among the current tooth whitening methods, and as a part of tooth or dental pulp is removed, the resulted damage is irreversible.
In the course of tooth whitening, the use of bleach is normally accompanied by the use of a light source to activate the bleach and shorten the course of therapy. Examples of most commonly used light source include halogen light, laser light, light emitting diode and so on. As halogen light source generates more heat than other light sours, it is not suitable to expose the tooth having activity to halogen light for long. The tooth whitening method adopting a laser light or a light emitting diode is called cold-light whitening and produces good tooth-whitening effect. Normally, the ingredients of bleach include oxidizing compounds such as hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide for reacting with the pigments deposited on the tooth surface to result in oxidation. However, most tooth bleaches are for external application only. If bleach is eaten by mistake, damage or side effect may occur. Besides, bleach may stimulate or hurt the soft tissues in the mouth such as the gums. Worse than that, bleach may permeate to the tissue of dental pulp, irritate the sensory nerve and cause allergy. Some bleach may even make the tooth deteriorated or eroded. No matter what method is used, cost, reliability, safety and possible side effects are the focus for improvement.